Sarvam AI, a five-month-old startup, has recently secured a whopping USD 41 billion in funding for its ambitious project. The company aims to build Large Language Models (LLMs) that specifically target Indian languages, with the goal of breaking language barriers and democratizing AI. Co-founded by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, Sarvam is determined to cater to the unique needs of India by training AI models to support various Indian languages and voice-first interfaces.
Sarvam’s first model in the OpenHathi series, called OpenHathi v.01, has just been announced. Developed on top of Meta’s Llama-2 7 billion parameter model, OpenHathi exhibits GPT-3.5-like performance for Indic languages. The startup intends to expand its repertoire by adding nine to ten more Indic languages in the coming months.
Unlike other startups in the same space, Sarvam’s focus is not solely on building open-source Indic LLMs. The company has a grander vision – to create a platform that simplifies the deployment of these models across various applications while keeping costs relatively low. According to Pratyush Kumar, the co-founder, the platform will provide a user-friendly environment for creating LLM applications, ensuring they can be easily deployed to a broad audience.
The potential applications of Sarvam’s Indic language models are vast. These models can enhance existing digital public goods or applications and serve as a foundation for developing new ones. For instance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to integrate an AI-powered voice interface for UPI payments, which could have a transformative impact on India’s digitized economy.
Sarvam’s co-founders understand the importance of placing these models in the hands of application developers to unlock their true potential. As users interact with these applications, they will contribute additional data and further enhance the models, leading to innovative advancements in the field.
While Sarvam.ai faces competition from other startups building Indic LLMs, what sets it apart is the expertise of its co-founders. Vivek Raghavan, with his background as the Chief Product Manager and biometric architect at UIDAI, and Pratyush Kumar, who co-founded AI4Bharat, have a strong foundation to scale Indic LLMs and democratize AI in India.
The road ahead for Sarvam is promising yet challenging. The startup aims to kick-start the cycle of building applications on top of their models and introducing them to users, thereby transforming their potential into reality. Ongoing discussions with various parties hint at forthcoming developments while the business model and revenue streams are yet to be finalized.
As Sarvam’s journey unfolds, it is essential to keep an eye on the significant strides they are expected to make in the field of AI. With their focus on Indian languages and their commitment to open-source components, Sarvam.ai has the potential to revolutionize the AI landscape in the country and beyond.
